The Study
Comparison of the anabolic effects and complications of human growth hormone and the testosterone analog, oxandrolone, after severe burn injury.
This study gave two different medicines to burn patients and saw what happened. Because the patients were randomly assigned, we can guess that the medicine probably caused the changes we saw—like less weight loss or faster healing. But we can't be 100% sure because the doctors and patients knew who got which medicine.
Analysis score
Maximum 90 for a randomized controlled trial.
Where the score came from
Two medicines help burn patients keep their muscle and heal faster, but one makes their blood sugar spike.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 555 / 100
Quality score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. The gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes — faster healing and less muscle loss are critical for recovery, but high blood sugar can cause dangerous complications like infections or organ stress.
- 2Both medicines cut weight loss in half and healed skin grafts 4 days faster.
- 3But HGH made all patients have high blood sugar; oxandrolone only did so in half.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Burns : journal of the International Society for Burn Injuries
Year
1999
Authors
Robert H. Demling
Related Content
Claims (6)
Testosterone, estrogen, and growth hormone increase the rate at which tendons, ligaments, and joints repair and recover after injury.
In adults with severe burns covering 25–50% of their body, taking 20 mg of oxandrolone daily for 7–10 days after injury reduces weight and nitrogen loss to the same level as human growth hormone, keeps metabolic rate close to normal, and does not raise blood sugar in half of the patients.
In adults with severe burns, oxandrolone at 20 mg per day does not raise blood sugar or increase metabolic rate, but human growth hormone at 0.1 mg per kg per day does raise blood sugar and increase metabolic rate.
In adults with severe burn injuries, human growth hormone and oxandrolone reduce daily nitrogen loss from about 12 grams to 3 grams or less, which reflects a reduction in muscle breakdown and supports preservation of lean body mass during recovery.
In adults with severe burns covering 25–50% of their body, daily human growth hormone treatment for 7–10 days results in hyperglycemia in all patients and increases metabolic rates to 178% of normal compared to oxandrolone or no treatment, while weight retention and wound healing are similar across groups.
In adults with severe burns, treatment with human growth hormone and oxandrolone shortens the time it takes for skin graft donor sites to fully heal from 14 days to about 10 days.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.